Burner unit for gas heating apparatus



Nov. 12, 1929. H. w. ODOWD 1,735,618

BURNER UNIT FOR (ms HEATING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 18. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Nov. 12, 1929;" I H. w. oDowD 73 BURNER UNIT FOR GAS HEATING APPARATUS I Filed Sept. 18, 1925 2 Shets-Sheet 2 III A lllll,

INVENTOR 17' AZC Y W Patented Nov. 12,1929

new mnsnx, assrenon ro sranrnann eae aconrona'rron or a v Y BURNER UNIT FOR GAS HEATING- APPARATUS Application filed September 18, 1925. seria no. 57,057.

This invention is directed to an improved burner unit for gas stoves or ranges apparatus 1n gas heating and for eneral. In the embodiment illustrated, the nnproved burner unit comprises specifically a Bunsen burner member formed with a. circular series of laterally directed flame ports, a pan-shaped metal shell or casing surrounding the burner member and forming a combustion chamber therefor with'vents atthe top for the products of combustion, the said shell being provided with a raised central portion forming a secondary air chamber within which the burner member is located and having discharge openings-leading from the secondary air chamber into the combustion chamber adjacent or in line with the flame ports, and a ring-like bed of refractory material located within the metal shell around the central raised portion and forming the floor of the combustion chamber and adapted to be heated to incandescence by the flame jets.

the burner unit is thus constructed, the secondary air is supplied and distributed in ample quantity to all of the flame jets in order to insure complete combustion under all conditions of use, and the lateral and end heat losses of the flame ets are absorbed and radiated back substantially within the zone of the flamespread. The intense incandescence of the refractory bed in conjunction with the positive and complete aeration of the flame jets permits of combustion over the whole area of greatly increases the heatin the combustion chamber and eiflciency of the urner unit, and this whet er the burner 1s operating at high observed that heat of the burner fullest extent.

or low pressure, it being both the direct and radiant flames are utilized to the The metal shell is also useful in preventing contamination of the secondary air supply by the combustion, as well as in back pressure,

waste products of guarding against flame deflection, air currents,

and other influences which might interfere with proper combustion or impair the heatin eflieiency of the burner. The improve burner unit is particularly advantageous in other part, the arrangement being such the flame jets are entirely enveloped with secondary air before they reach or contact with the heated part and the fuel wholly con- 5 sumed within the limited area of the flame. spread. The exact construction of the parts and their advantages will best be understood from the detailed description to follow.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken through the upper part of a range of the closed-top va= riety constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar section showing the improved burner unit as applied to a gas range of the open-top variety;

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of the improved b'urner unit as shown in Fig. 1, taken on the line 33 of that figure, 7

Fig: 4: is a vertical section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing a modified form of metal shell for the burner;

Fig. 6 isa vertical section of an alternative form of burner unit; and

Fig. 7 's a view similar to Fig. 4 and showing another modified form of burner shell.

The improved unit comprises, generally speaking, a Bunsen burner member a shell or casing B, and a heat deflector (l through a mixin tube A provided at dts secondaig air discharge'openings B, it is entrance end wit an air'chamber A into referre ohave them terminate short of the which the gas is discharged from a nozzle A under the control of a sto cock or valve A.

In all of the figures, the ame ports are directed laterally, as distinguished from vertically or perpendicularly, the gas nibs A in Fig. 6 extending u tion to the horizonta and those in the re- 10 maining figures extending outwardly in a truly horizontal direction. The invention is rimarily concerned with burner members ormedwith such laterally directed flame ports, having in view the complete aeration of the flame jets and the elimination of the heat losses incident to burners of this type. In this connection it may be statedthat heretofore in the use of burners of the type in question, the secondary air supplied to the burners reaches only the undersides of the burner flames, except possibly a trifling uantity which may ercolate through the fl ames to the upper si es, with the result that imerfect combustion takes place, causing the 2wv iberation of poisono 8 carbon monoxide fumes and lowering the heating efliciency of the burners. This is es ecially true when the burners are placed 0 ose to the cooking utensil or the. part to be heated, when back pressure occurs or eddies are created which imit or prevent the percolating action referred to. Moreover, in burners of this type, there is a considerable wastageof the heat units due to the horizontal disposition of the flame 'ets. Inother words, the direct heat of the urner is derived almost entirely from the upper sides of the flame jets, the heat given of? by the under sides and tip ends of the flames being of concentrated u on the" cookin utensil. With this brief explanation, it is be ieved the utility of the present invention will become more ap arent.

made of metal, may likewise be of any desired shape or form, depending largely upon the form or shape of the burner member. In the present instance, the shell is made in the shape of a pan to surround the burner member and has a central raised bottom portion B to serve as a cover for the burner member. As thus constructed, the space within the pan-shaped shell B constitutes a combustion chamber open at the top to allow the flames to act directly-upon the part to be heated, while the'space within the cover' portion B constitutes a secondary air chamber containing the burner member and open at the bottom for the admission of air thereto. Communication between the two chambers is established by means of a. series of discharge openings B formed in the side wall of the cover portion B in registry with the flame ports of'the burner member. While the gas nibs A might project into or through the wardly at an inclina-.

largely dissipated instead,

The s ell or casing B, which preferably is ischarge openings as shown, so that in this way the flame jets may directly entrain whatever quantity of secondary air is re uired to support combustion. In Fig. 2, t e pansha ed shell is shown as being comparatively sha low, its upper edge terminating in a horizontal plane passing throu h the cover portion B In Fig. 6, the shell 1s also shown as comparatively shallow, although its u per edge terminates in a hOI'lZOIltfll' plane a ove the cover portion B In this latter instance,

hile not necessary, the cover portion B is provided wit-h a depending hood B to enclose the burner member more completely. In the remaining figures, the pan-shaped shell is shown as considerably deeper, having its upper edge terminating in a horizontal plane located well above the cover Iportion B This latter construction is emp oyed when it is desired to close the combustion chamber at the top, for example as in Fig. 1, hence in such cases the shell is formed near the top with outlet openings or vents B" for the products of combustion.

The heat deflector C may similarly be of any desired shape or form, depending also upon the form or shape of the burner member, or at any rate upon the disposition of the flame ports, and may be made of any desired material adapted to function in the required manner. In the present instance, the deflector forms the floor of the combustion chamber a created by the shell B and is composed of some 1 refractory material, such as fireclay, which is adapted to be heated to incandescence bv the flame jets, and which will absorb the heat losses of the flame jets and radiate them back, substantially into the zone of the flamespread. In the forms shown, the deflector is laid in a ring-like bed in the bottom of the shell around the central raised cover portion 13, and has its upper or radiating surface curved upwardly and outwardly from a horizontal plane located below the secondary air discharge openings B In Fig. 6. the curvature is made more abrupt, in order to conform to the upward inclination of the flame jets which contact with the radiating surface at their under sides only. In the remaining figures, the curvature is more gradual and is made so that the flame jets (which are projected outwardly in a truly horizontal direction) will contact with the radiating surface at their tip ends as well as at their under sides. It is pointed out, however, that in both cases the refractory bed is so shaped that its radiating surface Will contact only with the outer or feather parts of the flame jets and not with the inner or conepa-rts thereof, thereby permitting combustion to take place without interference or disturbance.

It will now be seen that, in the operation of the improved burner unit,- the secondary 130 air is supplied to the burner in pure atmosheric condition and without contamination ythe waste products,being'drawn up through the open bottom of the secondary .air chamber and then entrained from said chamber directl by the flame jets as they project through the ischarge openings B into the combustion chamber formed by the shell B. Since the discharge openings .entirely surround the flame ports, each flame jet will be entlrely enveloped with secondary air in order to produce complete combustion. In other words, notwithstanding the lateral disposition of the flame ports, the secondar air will reach, not merely the under sides 0 theflame jets, but every part thereof and in quantiesregulated by the flame jets themselves. As the flame jets enter v the combustion chamber, they contact with the radiatin surface of the refractory bed B 39 (which, inci entally, may be plain, as shown,

or nodular or of any other desired configuration), heating it to lncandescence. As before explained, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 6, only the lower sides of the flame jets will 5 impinge a ainst the refractory bed, the upper sides and tip ends of the jets being adapted to play directly upon the through the open top of the shell B, while in the embodiments illustrated in the other figao ures, both the lower sides and tip ends of the jets will impinge against the refractory bed,

the upper sides of the jets only being utilized for direct heating. In both cases, however, the heat absorbed by the refractory bed, which as would otherwisebe lost or wasted, is radiated back into the zone of the flamespread and concentrated upon the part to be heated, so that such part (whether a cooking utensil, a stove plate, or other part) will be subject to both the direct and radiant heat of. the burner flames. The refractory bed, in addition to the performance of the important functions just noted, also aids in promoting combustion,

' serving by its incandescence to heat and con combustion chamber from the flame ports. In fact, the flame jets will spread and form practically a continuous sheet of flame covering the entire radiating surface of the refractory bed, although still confined to that area. In this way, an intense heating effect may be produced within the limited area of the combustion chamber without interfering with proper combustion and with the minimum consumption of fuel.

7 While the various elements composing the improved burner unit cooperate in a peculiar way in producing the results aimed at, nevertheless they perform individual functions which might be useful alone or in other arrangements as well. For instance, the cover 13 could be used alone (i. e., without the rest of the shell B or the heat deflector C) to good advantage, serving, in addition to the as functions above noted, to protect the Bunsen part to be heated.

- sume any unburnt gases which may enter the burner against the heat'of the roducts of combustionand thus lessening t e tendency to cause an excessive ex ansion of the contained gas, such as woul reduce the entrainment of the 1primary air. On the other hand, the air poc eted within the cover becomes heated by the products of combustion and may therefore be more effectively entrained at the flame ports. It is also pointed out that, due to the restricted areas of the discharge openingsB the pressure of the products of combustion at the flame ports is reduced to a minimum, thereby lessening the tendency to back pressure and hence more nearly preserving the initial entrainment of the primary air. Moreover, the cover protects the burnor from outside disturbances and serves as a shield to prevent the clogging up of the flame ports by drippings or other foreign substances fallin from above. Similarly, the refractory bed C or the shell B, without the cover portion B might be used alone to perform their independent functions, although it would be desirable in either case to provide in some way for the proper aeration of the burner flames. The use of the refractory bed 0 in connection with the cover portion B would make a very desirable unit, lacking only the advantage of an enclosed combustion chamber, which, however, wouldbe constituted in part by the refractorylied itself. Likewise, the use alone of the shell 13 with the cover portion B would .be ad-; vantageous, derived from the use of the refractory bed 0. However, some of these advantages might be. realized by polishing or enameling the lower portion of the shell so as in that way to direct or reflect the heat losses of the flame jets upwardly into the zone of the flame spread. I

In all of the constructions above described, the metal shell B is shown as separate from the burner member and as detachably secured thereto, as will be more fully described herealthough lacking the advantages inafter. This arrangement is preferredfor reasons of economy and for the further reason that the shell may be readily removed to permit the cleaning, repair, or replacement of the individual parts. It should be noted, however, that it would be entirely feasible to make the shell, or its cover portion B when used alone, integral with the burner member, as by casting, and this is contemplated .by the present invention.- It should also be noted thatit is not absolutely essential that the secondary air chamber formed by the cover B be common to all of the discharge openings B*, as in the embodiments; illustrated, but that a number of such chambers might be provided to serve the dis-' charge openings individually or in groups.

In Fig. 1' the improved burner unit is illustrated as embodied in a gas range of the type covered my prior Letters Patent No.

' 1,403,814. As'shown, the range comprises an oven 2 and a closed smooth-surfaced cook ing top 3, .the latter being arranged above and in spaced relation to the top wall 4 ofthe oven and extending rearwardly beyond the back wall 5 of the range and formed throughout its length with a series of outward openings or vents 9 adapted'to discharge into a flue 1 the products of combustion issuing from both the top burners and the oven burner. At this point it may be noted that the products of combustion frointhe oven 2 pass off through a top flue 10 communicating at the posed to employ a rear, through openings '11 with an outlet chamber or pocket 12 having a narrow passage 13 registering with the vents 9. A

burner plate 18 (preferably made of cast iron) is located in the space between the closed cooking top 3 and theloven top" wall 1 and provides 1n effect an upper heat generating chamber 19 and a lower secondary air compartment 20. As shown, the burner plate is arranged in close parallel relation to the overlying cooking top so as to provide a shallow heat generating chamber which will serve to heat the entire top whether one or more of flange B which seats upon a similar flange 21 formedaround the edge of the lid opening 22 of the cooking top 3, the two flanges being sufliciently depressed to receive an give support to the customary lid 23 flush with the upper surface of the cooking top.

Asthus arranged, the shell B becomes a supporting member for the burner A which is suspended therefrom by means of a cotter pin D passed through a perforated lug .D ex-.

tended upwardly from the burner through an aperture in the top of the cover portion B (see also Fig. 4). As will be observed, the shell B is of the same diameter as the lid opening, so that the combustion chamber formed within the shell is limited to the area of the lid opening; hence when a cooking vessel is placed in the lid opening or upon the lid, the direct and radiant heat of theburner may be concentrated thereon, the arrangement being such that the burner flames may be brought as close to the top as desired without danger of interfering with proper com- .bustion. The-waste products leave the combustion chamber through the vents B of the shell B and enter the heat generating cham-' ber 19, flowing rearwardly therethrough and ing to whichmay thus.

burner unit will, of course,

escaping the fluejla escaping, thewaste products are caused to give up their heat to the overlying rear said to possess a secon ary calorific surface available for slow cooking and warmin up or keepin food asmay. alreadyiave been 000% heating capacity of the escaping greatly increased by the shallow c aracter of the heatgenerating chamber, due to the close proximity of the" burner plate 18 with the,

cooking top 3, the products being caused to pass between the two without substantial expansion in a stratum of substantially. uniform character which imparts practically the whole of its heat to the cooking top on the one hand and theburner plate on the other. The burner plate becoming hot, will in turn radiate its heat to the overlying cooking to? and aid further in promoting the heatin ficiency of the range in this respect. oreover, some of the heat radiated from the burner plate will be imparted to the air entering the underlyingsecondary air compartment 20 and hence enable the air to be more effectively entrained at the flame ports. The effect above described will take place whether one or more of the burners are in operation at the same time, although necessarily the maximum heating effect will be obtained by the use of all the burnerssimultaneously. Once the cooking top-is heated, one burner alone will keep it hot, since the heat generating chamber is substantially coextensive with the top and allows the heated products of com-' bustion to be distributed uniformly throughout the entire under surface of the top. The

behavior of the burner unit will have been understood from the foregoing description, it being apparent that no secondary air can enter the heat generatin chamber except that 1 which is entrained t rough the discharge openings B by. the flame jets directly. It hardly needs to be stated that the secondary air will be drawn in from the compartment 20 through the secondary air chamber formed by the cover B In cases where the diameter of the lid opening is larger than that of the shell B, the latter may be flared outwardly at the top, as shown in Fig. 5, to allow the supporting flange B to fit properly within the opening.

hot such ed. The roducts is.

rtion' of the cook- In Fig. 7, the shell B is shown as integral with the burner plate 18, this being a suitable construction when the burner unit is intended to be used exclusively in a range such as that above described. In this case, the be supported by the burner plate, and hence the flange B may be omitted, although it is still desirable to extend the shell upwardly to make contact with the cooking top so as to shut off communication between the combustion chamher and the heat genera-ting chamber, except through the vents B.

. which the same may igisaeie Fig. 2 illustrates one of the burner units as applied to orange of the openfivariety, t at is to say, a range equipped wit an open or grate top 30. In this instance, the burner member A is shown as the supporting element, being formed on its under side with a recessed lug D resting upon a supporting rod D in a well-known manner. However, the connection between the burnermember and the shell B is precisely the same as before. The shell B here shown is of the shallow t e, which is most desirable for ranges of t e open-top variety. The burner unit illustrated in Fig. 6, being of the shallow type, is

also best suited for an open-top range, although of course it may be used in connection with a closed-top range. In this latter figure, the burner member A is sugported as in Fig. 2, but the depending hood is recessed as at B to fit over the mixing tube A The invention is not, of course, confined to the precise constructions shown and described, nor to any particular construction by be carried into efl'ect, as many changes may be made in the details thereof without departing from the main principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages. It should be understood, therefore, limited to any specific form or embodiment, except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, its construction and mode of operation, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. A burner unit for gas heating apparatus comprising a Bunsen burner member formed with a circular series of laterally directed flame ports, and a pan-shaped shell surroundp ing said burner member and forming a localized combustion chamber therefor, the said shell being provided with a raised central portion forming a secondary air chamber wherein the burner member is located, and having openin in its side wall leading from the secondary air chamber into the combustion chamber adjacent the flame ports.

2. A burner unit for gas heating apparatus comprising a Bunsen burner member formed with a circular series of laterally directed flame ports, a pan-shaped shell surroundin said burner member and forming a localize combustion chamber therefor, the said shell being provided with a raised central portion forminga secondary air chamber wherein the burner member is located, and having openings in its side wall leading from the secondary air chamber into the combustion chamber adjacent the flame ports, and a ring-like bed of refractory material located within the pan-shaped shell around the central raised portionin position for contact with the flame jets and forming the floor-of the combustion chamber.

that the invention is not 3. A burner unit for gas heating appmtus, comprising, a Bunsen burner member formed with a series of laterally directed flame ports, a pan-shaped shell surroundin the burner member and formin a localized inter or combustion chamber an a localized exterior secondary air chamber, said shell bemg formed with opgnings leading from the. secondary air cham r-into the combustion;- chamber adjacent the flame ports andalso formed at the top with vents forthapwdmts ofcofibistiong urner unit for as heati a aratus comprising a shallow coi n bus ti on chamberand a Bunsen burner member, one

of, said elements surrounding the other the combustion chamber having a side we extending entirely around the same and formed throughout its extent with secondary air opemngs, and the Bunsen burner member bemg located outside the combustion chamber and formed in its side and throughout its extent with a series of laterally directed flame ports arranged in registration with the see ondary air openings and adapted to, project the flame 'ets 'therethrough into the combustion cham er.

5. A burner unit for gas heating apparatus comprising a horizontally disposed shallow combustion chamber having a bottom wall ascomposed of. refractory material and presenting an endless side wall formed throughout its extent w1th secondary air openings arranged above the level of the refractory material, and a horizontally disposed'Bunsen goo burner member located outside the combustion chamber and formed in its side with an endless series of flame ports registering with the secondary air openings and adapted to roJect the flame jets therethrough into concombustion chamber.

6. A burner unit for gas heating apparatus comprising a Bunsen burner member formed in its outer periphery with a series of laterally directed flame ports, and a pan-shaped shell having a dome-like cover forming a secondary air chamber wherein the burner member is located, and an exterior fian ed portion forming a combustion cham r around the secondary air chamber, the said dome-like cover being formed in its side wall opposite the flame ports with a series of open- I 5 tact with the refractory material within the mound the secondary chamber ind lilifld with a bed of refracto material, the said dome-like cover being famed inits side wall opposite the fiameports with aee'ries of o leadin from the second air 5 into 'thi combustion and through which the flarggg'ets project into 'direct'contact the of refraetol y ma- 0 In testimony whereof, I have afixed my slgnature hereto.

HENRY w. ODOWD. 

